Virginia Tomas hated alarm clocks.

They were terrible, waking you from dreams and causing you to trudge through another day.

Gin looked around to the unpacked boxes surrounding her room. She had been in Bristol for a week, and had not bothered unpacking yet. Every day she woke up, she hoped that the move had been a terrible nightmare. Born in Oxford, she had been everywhere: France, Italy, Switzerland, America, and even, for a few months, South Africa. Now she was stuck in Bristol, and apparently the move was "permanent." At least for her. Her mom and dad would be travelling the world for their work as photographers, but Gin had to stay put. No more fun and adventurous travels for her. Instead, Gin got to live practically by herself and attend Roundview College. Oh, joy.

She got up and did the morning thing - shower, teeth, etc. When it came to her hair, Ginny found it best to leave it plain; her auburn waves tended to do their own thing. She walked to her closet, pulling out an old Ramones t-shirt and a tight black miniskirt. The shirt was old, cut at the shoulders, and had once been her dads. She pulled on some high-heeled black boots, put on some of her dark, smoky eye makeup, grabbed her bag, and strolled out of the house. She didn't eat breakfast - Gin wasn't the biggest fan of cereals and toaster pastries, and she really wasn't a fan of cooking. Gin sighed, looking around her dull new neighborhood, and started walking in the direction of school.

…

Fucking Hell, Gin thought. The people here are as dull as the scenery. She was sitting on a bench, smoking a cigarette and looking at the people. Suddenly, she saw a blond girl walking towards her. She had on a white button down, navy blue pleated skirt, gold knee socks, and some high heeled Mary Janes. Gin was not usually the type to befriend perfectly preppy blonde girls. She was probably a great student, did lots of things that would look good on Uni applications. Before Virginia could say anything, the girl sat down beside her.

"Do you have a light?" The girl said, without looking at Gin. She was rifling through her bag, looking for something. She pulled out a tin of neatly rolled spliffs, pulling one out.

Well, that was not what Gin had anticipated. The girl looked at Gin expectantly. Gin held out her lighter for the girl.

"Thanks. I'm Bee. Well, Beatrice, but no one calls me that. Ever." She smiled brightly. Ginny looked at Bee. "Virginia. I go by Ginny, or Gin. Whichever suits your fancy." Bee nodded. "Cool. Gin. Got it." She gave Gin a quick onceover (it wasn't unnoticed). "You're new. Because I don't know you. And I know everyone." Gin just nodded. Bee was talking more now, about teacher and classes and Roundview and Bristol. While she talked, Ginny looked at her. Gin hadn't been looking for any friends, but as she watched Bee ramble off, she thought to herself, one friend can't hurt. She didn't know why she wanted to have Bee as a friend. She had never actually wanted a friend before (not like she had much time to make many). Finally tuning back to the (practically one-sided) conversation, she heard Bee say, "Oh my God! You must not know anyone! Let's go meet my friends!" Bee tossed down her spliff and practically sprang off the bench. Gin shrugged, dropping her cigarette on the ground and stomping on it with the heel of her boot. "Let's go then," she said, grabbing her bag and standing.

More teenagers. Fun fun.

…..

Gin followed Bee to the student lounge, her pace slow and graceful. Bee stopped to say hi to almost everyone they saw, so it wasn't like she fell too far behind. Bee only stopped walking when they reached a circle of people splayed out on couches. "Hi hello," Bee chirped as a greeting. A bunch of different forms of "Hello" came back at her. "This is Virginia. Or Ginny. Or Gin. Whichever. Gin, these are my mates."

She started going around the circle. "Oliver, Hannah, Millie, Seamus, Alistair, and Hunter, my brother." Ginny's eyes lingered on Hunter a bit longer than everyone else, and he met her gaze. He looked like Bee, all blond and blue-eyed. He was tall, she could just tell. Overall, he was rather fit. They all nodded towards Virginia.

"So," Bee continued on, clearly leading the conversation, "There's that party tonight, yeah?"

Oliver looked at her, his calm tawny eyes meeting her over-excited bright blue ones. "Yeah Bee. And Seamus is supplying." He looked over at Seamus and smirked. "Fuck you mate," retorted Seamus, eyes glinting happily, clearly not meaning what he said. "That bet was fucking wrong." Oliver shrugged in a "nothing you can do" sort of way. "Sorry mate, you lost. You're supplying."

Bee laughed lightly. "Ok. So you'll all be there? You too, Gin?"

Ginny thought about it while everyone else nodded. "Well, I really should unpack, but then again…" she trailed off. "Yeah, I'll be there."

Bee smiled brightly. "Brill."

…..

The music was pounding, everyone was disgustingly sweaty, and drugs were in circulation.

The party was quite a rager.

Gin danced excitedly to the music, currently sandwiched between Hannah and Seamus as they all danced around. The pills which Seamus had brought were total crap, but it didn't stop anyone from having one (or three) any ways. Gin pulled herself from the throng of dancing people, desperately wanting something to drink. She strolled over to the makeshift bar, noticing the way guys watched her walk. She liked the attention. Not as if any of them had an ice cube's chance in Hell with her anyways, but the attention was still nice. Gin knew how people saw her. She was cool and aloof; gorgeous and mysterious. A beautifully constructed wall. If only people knew how the decoration hid the large cracks making their way through the wall.

She was glad to see a familiar face at the bar.

"Hey," Hunter smiled down at her, showing his gleaming white smile. Gin smirked up at him, "Hey yourself." She looked to the mass of gyrating bodies. "Not the dancing type?" Hunter laughed. He has a nice laugh, Gin couldn't help but think to herself. "Not unless there's someone cool to dance with." He glanced down at Gin. "Well then, you should dance with me. It doesn't get much cooler than this," she said, pointing to herself. Hunter laughed again, taking her hand and leading her out to the dance floor. They danced close, pressed against each other and faces merely inches apart.

They danced like that for two hours.

…

"Let me walk you home."

Gin hears Hunter's voice in her ear and nods, letting him lead her out of the club. They walked along the street for a bit, adjusting to the normal sounds around them.

Gin strolled along casually. "Where did Bee disappear to?" She queried.

Hunter shrugged, "Probably off with Oliver somewhere. It happens quite often."

Gin raised her eyebrows. "Are they together?"

Hunter shook his head slowly. "I don't really know. They make out at parties sometimes. But I don't know if they're actually together." Gin thought they probably did more than make out, but still. Bee was his sister. Probably not something he wants to think about. Gin pulled out a pack of cigarettes (because for some reason, she likes them more than spliff and weed), lighting one. She offered one to Hunter, who shook his head no. "Not a smoker?" He smiled. "I don't smoke those."

Gin nodded. They walked on in silence for a bit.

"So tell me about your friends. Your sister didn't really give me much of an explanation as to who anyone was, more than names, this morning."

Hunter nodded. "Yeah. Sure. So, you know Bee well enough. She's a ball of energy. Bright. She kind of pulls people towards her. I just worry for the day that she may burn out. And Oliver. He's a good guy. Funny. We play football together. Also, he likes making bets. Don't bet him. Hannah's the sweetest person I've ever met. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She can be a bit dramatic, but she doesn't like having people mad at her, ever. Millie's not exactly a ray of sunshine. She's pretty sarcastic, a bit depressed maybe, but a great friend. Seamus is…Seamus. There's not really any other way to describe him. But he's a cool guy, if you get past the initial craziness. Alistair doesn't talk much. But don't let that fool you. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met, and I've met a lot of people. He does talk sometimes, but less frequently than everyone else. It's like he thinks about what he says 10 minutes before he actually says it." Hunter smiled to himself, done with his descriptions. "Now tell me about you," he said, looking ahead of him.

Gin nodded. "I've moved a lot. My parents are both professional photographers, so they travel a lot. I was born in Oxford though. I hate country music. And people with no backbone. I like strawberry ice cream, cigarettes, parties, and sunflowers." And you, she thought to herself. "My sister died when I was 13." Instantly she tensed up.

That was not meant to come out.

Hunter was not meant to hear that.

At least she didn't mention that her sister had killed herself.

Hunter looked at her, his eyes widening, his expression sad.

"Don't say sorry," Gin said.

"Ginny, I wasn't going to," Hunter said. However, as he said that, he slipped her hand into his.

They walked the rest of the way to Gin's house in silence, hand-in-hand.

…..

4:26 A.M.

That's what the alarm clock read when Ginny had finally decided to stop attempting to sleep.

She padded downstairs to the living room, which held the piano. Gin sat at the bench, wondering how her piano skills were when she was exhausted. She put her hands up to the keys and began playing "Let It Be," by the Beatles. It wasn't a hard song for her, by any means, but she loved the melody of it. Sometimes she sung the words along with the music.

Gin loved the piano. She had begun when she was young, maybe four. It was because Amanda got to learn it. So of course, little Ginny just had to learn it too. The difference was that Amanda quit after one lesson, while Virginia automatically fell in love with it. Her piano teachers had called her gifted, talented, a prodigy.

After Mandy died, Ginny slowly stopped going to lessons, before formally informing her teacher that she was done.

Now, she only played when she couldn't sleep.

The song ended, and Gin stood up, closing the piano, and going back to her room. She sat down on her bed, not trying to lie down and sleep. Instead she took a photo off her bedside table. It was of her and Mandy, smiling brightly, arms around each other's shoulders. It was taken a year before she died.

Virginia felt herself tear up.

What happened to you?

Gin fell asleep hugging the picture and crying quietly to herself.